Affordable nature getaways on cards

Good news is on the way for holidaymakers – travellers will soon have the opportunity to visit some of KwaZulu-Natal’s nature reserves without breaking the bank.

This follows the launch of innovative ecotourism travel packages offered by conservation organisation Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife and low-cost airline kulula.com last week.

The packages consist of flights, car hire and visits to Ezemvelo-managed reserves.

The affordable packages are the initiative of Ezemvelo senior marketing manager Siphelele Luthuli.

“I was flying to Gauteng on board a kulula.com flight to watch a World Cup match last year, and I thought to myself, ‘How can we align ourselves with an airline such as ku-lula.com, with whom we share a passion for conservation?”

Ezemvelo, whose mandate is to ensure the conservation and sustainable use of the province’s biodiversity, manages 68 internationally recognised nature reserves, including two World Heritage sites – the iSimangaliso Wetland Park and uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park.

Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife CEO Bandile Mkhize said they had met kulula.com CEO Gidon Novick in August last year to discuss the initiative.

“We believe this partnership will work,” he said.

Mkhize said while the packages would include inexpensive three-star accommodation, guests could expect five-star service.

“We have the ocean, the Drakensberg and the wildlife. We are home to the big seven, which includes the shark and the whale,” he said.

Novick said KZN was under-marketed as a holiday destination.

He said the airline already offered 20 flights a day into the province from Joburg, Cape Town and Port Elizabeth.

Comair Limited’s executive manager for travel, Iain Meaker, said the packages would become available in May. - The Mercury